American Psycho: What If Leonardo DiCaprio Played Patrick Bateman
Leonardo DiCaprio came close to starring in American Psycho, and it would have changed the trajectory of his career, the film's legacy, and even the careers of other actors. Back in 2000, American Psycho was a massively controversial film, mostly due to its subject matter, and that made casting its lead, Patrick Bateman, particularly tricky. Based on Bret Easton Ellis' novel of the same name, American Psycho follows a murderous investment banker — Bateman — as he engages in numerous acts of horrific violence, hiding his double life from those around him.
Ultimately, Christian Bale was cast in the lead role. Bale's performance in American Psycho as Patrick Bateman has since become one of the most iconic turns in modern cinema, and the film's cult status (and meme culture relevance) has made it a massively important film within pop culture. However, the original novel's author actually considered American Psycho to be unfilmable, and, indeed, the subject matter was cause for concern for the studio. As a result, the casting of relative unknown Christian Bale was cast into doubt, with other more bankable actors considered to play Bateman.
Related: Why Patrick Bateman Was Cut From Rules Of Attraction & Who Played Him (Not Bale)
One such actor was Leonardo DiCaprio. DiCaprio was attached at one point in production but eventually dropped out of the project in order to star in Danny Boyle's The Beach. However, had Leonardo DiCaprio appeared in American Psycho, his career would likely have looked very different, as would Christian Bale's. This would have been due to the nature of American Psycho and the immediate backlash to it, but also, DiCaprio's creative vision for the character of Patrick Bateman would ultimately have hurt
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